Wire-cutter.



C. H. THURSTON. WIRE CUTTER.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2o. ISIS. 1,201,991. Patented 0et.17,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

F1199 y Okaflesfi Thursm/j u 'lll C. H. THURSTON.

WIRE CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2o. ists 1,201,991. V Patented 001111916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FigflZ 0 29913027 Ine/Llo, Charles H Thurslonj i'y l f Be it known that I, CHAnLEs nivrrnn srngfrns PATENT onirica.

cHAnLEs H. rHUns'roN, or woncns'rnn, MAssncHUsE'r'rs.

Winn-GUTTER.

To allwhom imag concern: Y

H. THURsf TON, aycitizen of the United States, and a resident of the city and county of 'Vorcester and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new andusefullmprovements in Nire-Cuttei's,.f of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The object of this invention is thel construction of a comparatively inexpensive and yet Ia powerful hand-operating vvdevice for cutting wire and the like.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side sectional view of a cutter embodying one form of my invention. Fig-2 is a cross same on the line X-X in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side View of one of the cutter-blades. Fig.

4 is an edge view of the two blades in operative position. Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line Y-Y in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a side view of a section of the cutter-body showing the internally toothed washer. Fig. 6@ is a perspective view of said washer. Fig. 7 is a side view of the pivotal end of the operative handle. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a length of corrugated rod sections of which are cut off to constitute the operative pinions of the cutters. Fig. 9 is a side sectional View of another form of the wire cutter. Fig. 10 is a side view of my preferred form of cutter. Fig. 11 is a side sectional view of the same, but showing the terminal portions of the handles broken off. Figs. 12 and 13 are face views of the cutter blades.

The body and handles of the wire cutter are formed from sheet metal suitably shaped and bent, the body portion 1 being given the hollow conformation shown in Fig. 2, integral with the. handle 2. In the upper part of the body portion 1 has a deep notch 3, and within the body are slidably located two cutter blades 4, 5 each having a notch 6 formed with a cuttingedge 7, as shown in Fig. 4. By introducing the wire to be cut in said notches and oppositely sliding the blades4 and 5, said cutting edges are brought into severing engagement with the wire.

For thus forcibly sliding the cutter blades, each is formed with a toothed arm 9 oppositely disposed one relative to the other. Through holes in the body 1 is passed a sec'- tion of the corrugated rod 12 shown in Fig. 8, said section 12 being longer than the section of the v t speieatitn of Letters Patent. Y Patented Get, 17, 1915 Application filed March 20,1916. Sera-1 No. 85,296. i

thickness of thebody.,v To enable this ion 12y toturnfreely in said holes, a washerl toothed to iit the pinion, as shown in Fig. 6. y

Als shown in Figs. 5 and 6a, each washer is given a shoulder 14 rby means of which is f kept from displacement internally of the rllhe operative handle l15 has its two spaced terminals 16 formed with openings 17 internally toothed to lit snugly the ends of the pinion, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7. Washers 19 held over the ends of the pinion by .screws 20, as indicated in Fig. 5, and larger 1n diameter than the pinion, serve. to retain the pinion and also the handle 15V in place, while the internalteeth of the holes 17 by their engagement with lthe teeth of thek pinion,enable the pinion to be forcibly turned by a swing of the handle. Hence, by forci bly drawingthe handles 2 and 15 toward each other, the pinion 12 is partially turned,

and, by the engagement of the latter with the rack arms 9, the cutter blades are oppositely moved and the cutting edges 7 are caused to sever a wire introduced between them. There being evidently but little if any strain upon the screws 20, since the force of the operative handle y15 is communicated to the pinion 12 through the engagement of the toothed holes 17 with the teeth of the pinion, there is no need for further fastening devices than said screws. As shown in Fig. 1, the toothed arms 9 are disposed for engaging opposite sides of the pinion,-and.thereby are adapted for moving the blades 4, 5 in opposition to each other. A

In the construction set forth in Fig. 9, the blades 20, 21 are pivotally supported at 22 and provided with segmental racks 23, 24 engaging opposite sides of the pinion 12, in orde-r that the swing of the handle 15 will give the desired shearing action'to the blades. The construction is otherwise practically like that above described.

My preferred construction is of the type 'just referred to, and is shown in Figs. 10 to 13 inclusive. Here the two oscillating blades are extended rearwardly and at the rear end of each is a transversely disposed slot 25 curved concentric with the pivot 22, one slot having teeth along the edge near the blades 26 with a plurality of notches 27 and one or more holes 29, of different diame-l ters to accommodate different sizes of wire,

i, as also to prolong the life of the tool by increasing the number ofcutting edges. To give access to the holes 29, the sides of the body 1 are given corresponding openings,

-as shown in Fig. l10. Vith the long leverage given by the handle 15 acting on the pinion 12, and by the increased length of the blades 26 from the slots 25 tothe pivot 22, this toolis enabled to cut wire of comparatively large size. This, taken in connection with its durability and small cost to manufacture, makes the tool one of great value. In this preferred form of my invention the pivot screw 22 has a check nut 30 on its outer end, the side of the body 1 adjacent the check nut being threaded. This enables the two fiat sides of the body to be pressed together sufiiciently to hold the blades 26 snugly in contact, and so to insure their proper. coperation. Y

In order further to improve this tool and thereby to enable linemen and others engaged upon wire work to twist and bend the wire as well as to cut it, so that it will not be ynecessary to carryboth a pair of pliers and a wire cutter, I have provided the tool with pliers as follows: Between the edges of the bodyssides is fastened a strip of steel 31 provided with ears 32 and having one end shaped and hardened to compose a fixed jaw 33. Between the ears 32 is pivoted or fulcrumed the movable jaw 34 whose tail 35 is formed with a lateral extension 36 adapted to engage one of the bladesnear its free end. A suitable resilient means, as a small helical spring 37 serves to open the pliers. Now, when the handle 15 is forced toward the handle 2, the blade contacting with the extension 36 presses the latter outward and thereby brings the movable jaw into contact with the fixed jaw. Thus constructed, the tool is a most convenient and powerful means for both cutting and twisting wire, the manipulation for each operation being in a natural and ready manner.

Vhat I claim is:

1. A tool comprising a hollow body havinga hole transversely through the same, a

pinion projecting from each side of the body in said holes and having teeth extending its entire length, an operative member having portions adjacent the sides of said body, each of said portions having a hole interiorly toothed to iit said spindle, means Copies of this patent may be obtained for five lcents each, by addressing the for fastening said pinion to said portions, and jaws operated by said pinion.

2. A tool comprising a hollow body having a circular hole transversely through it, jaws within vthe said body each having a toothed portion, a pinion projecting through said hole vand having teeth through its entire length and operatively-engaging said toothed portions of the jaws, washers interiorly toothed to it said pinion and rotatively located in said holes, and an operative member having sides of said body rigid with said pinion.

3. A tool comprising a hollow body having a transverse circular hole through it, jaws within said body, one of the jaws having a toothed operative portion, a pinion projecting through said hole and engaging said toothed portion, shouldered interiorly toothed washers fitting on said pinion and rotatively held in said circular holes, and an operative member having portions adjacent the sides of the body, said portions having interiorly toothed holes fitting the ends of said pinion and rigid therewith.

portions adjacent thea handle formed from sheet metal, an operative handle formed from sheet metal, the last-named handle having at one end members inclosing two opposite sides of the hollow body, said members having each a hole formed with interior teeth, and said body being formed with a hole in each side larger than the toothed holes, a pinion having teethv extending its entire length and projecting through all four of said holes, the teeth of said pinion iitting said toothed holes, washers tting said pinion and said body-holes, a washer larger in diameter than the pinion at each end of the latter, means fastening the washers to the pinion, and cutting jaws located within said body and having toothed members engaging said pinion, whereby the forcible rotation of the pinion causes said jaws to co-act.

5. A tool comprising a hollow body, a movable blade pivoted near one end therein, means engaging the other end of said blade for its actuation, a blade co-acting with the movable blade for severing wire and the like, a. fixed jaw carried by said body, and a movable jaw pivotally supported in coaction with the fixed jaw, said movable jaw having an extension engaging said movable blade near its non-pivoted end.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing.

Commissioner lof Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

